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After vote against troop hike, panel wary of rebuilding cost

WASHINGTON - Members of a Senate committee that voted against President Bush's Iraq plan said Thursday they also are wary of pouring more money into rebuilding while the security situation is so dire.

"I want you to know that I am not inclined to support any additional funding in this area without strong assurances that this sort of mismanagement has been alleviated," said Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.

A day earlier the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 12-9 in favor of a resolution condemning Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. The vote largely was along party lines. Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel was the sole Republican who supported the measure.

A full Senate vote could come as early as the week of Feb. 5, Democratic leaders said Thursday.

Bush says the troops are needed to provide security for rebuilding efforts. As part of his new strategy, Bush pledged an additional $1.2 billion and said the Iraqi government designated $10 billion.

The State Department is expanding the number of reconstruction teams for Baghdad and the western Anbar province, sending some 300 additional civilian personnel to Iraq.

On Thursday, Republicans and Democrats told a State Department official they are concerned the extra money could fuel corruption or the insurgency.

"Some of us have become very skeptical of the capacity - our capacity to organize this and the capacity to actually implement it," said Sen. Joseph Biden, the committee chairman.

The department has spent nearly $15 billion on reconstruction, said Biden, D-Del., and "as you know better than I do, the results aren't pretty."

Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, the committee's top Republican, said Congress should get more detailed reports from the administration on progress made and money spent in Iraq.

"Overall, the results have been disappointing to the Iraqi people, to Congress, and to American taxpayers," he said about the rebuilding efforts.

David Satterfield, the department's senior adviser on Iraq, said the increased security afforded by extra troops will make it easier to oversee spending.